Security forces detained four people, all staff of the satirical magazine Leman, after the publication released a controversial cartoon in its latest edition, allegedly depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The act stirred up outrage in Muslim-majority Türkiye, and an angry group of protesters attempted to march into the publication’s offices in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district Monday night.
Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are deemed blasphemous in Islam, and under Turkish laws, it is a punishable act as “insulting religious values,” which also covers denigrating actions toward other religions.
The cartoon published in the June 26 edition of Leman showed two characters named Muhammad and Moses, or Musa as the Abrahamic prophet is called in Islam.
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation over the cartoon, and police detained cartoonist D.P., graphic artist C.O., managing editor Z.A. and administrative manager A.Y. Two other suspects wanted by authorities, including editor-in-chief T.A., were abroad, media outlets reported Tuesday. Authorities also ordered a recall of the June 26 edition of Leman.
Ministers, social media users and nongovernmental organizations were among those condemning the cartoon. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said they cannot tolerate disrespect toward faith as he made the investigation public in a social media post. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pledged that those who committed “immoral acts” would be held accountable, while denouncing the cartoon that “aimed to sow the seeds of strife.”
Late Tuesday, an angry crowd gathered on the street where the offices of the magazine are located, chanting slogans amid the watchful eyes of riot police who barricaded the street. Security measures were in place as of Tuesday.
The Presidency’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said in a social media post that the immoral depiction of the prophet was an unacceptable provocation and called on the public to maintain calm and not to “fall for incitement.”
Leman is known for its past collaboration with France’s Charlie Hebdo, which is infamous for publishing such cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims. The cartoonist D.P., meanwhile, is known for his provocative tweets, including a recent one calling for an “armed uprising” against the democratically elected government.
Social media was flooded with messages denouncing the cartoon, while heads of nongovernmental organizations issued messages to that extent. Ibrahim Beşinci, head of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), said in a social media post that a “magazine demonstrating hatred towards people’s values under the guise of humor should cease its operations.”
The Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) said in a statement that they were “aware of the provocation by Leman, which boasts insulting religious values.
“They cannot achieve what they aimed with their immoral cartoons.”
Devlet Bahçeli, head of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said in a speech at Parliament on Tuesday that he condemned the “repulsive attack on our prophet in this so-called satirical magazine, which is as primitive as its foreign counterparts,” referring to European publications such as Charlie Hebdo. Bahçeli suggested that Türkiye should enact a political, strategic and legal action plan against the Islamophobia creeping into Türkiye.
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters on Tuesday that they condemned the publication of the cartoon insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses. “This is something with multiple dimensions. For a while, we have been witnessing disrespect toward the Quran and our prophet in Europe by some fascists. We have been fighting against Islamophobia. This is not about artistic expression, this is a hate crime,” Çelik said.
He said they respected citizens who expressed how sensitive they were on this issue. “They stand for the sacred matters, humanity’s values. But we cannot accept some people’s attacks on police (while staging a demonstration outside the Leman office),” he underlined.
“Hostility toward Islam, insults toward our values, is something we should counter. We will pursue a legal struggle,” he stressed.
Opposition politicians were quiet on the matter, with no official statements as of Tuesday afternoon, barring condemning messages by small parties with a largely conservative electorate. Some supporters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) appeared supporting "freedom of expression" for Leman.
Ekrem Imamoğlu, a former Istanbul mayor for the CHP who was detained last March on corruption charges, was the most high-profile name denouncing the cartoon.
Through a social media account conveying his messages from an Istanbul prison, Imamoğlu, a future presidential candidate of the CHP, condemned "the act of impertinence against our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), blessing for the world and the Prophet Moses."
"The cartoon's publishers say it sought to draw attention to oppression in Gaza, but their method broke the hearts of the faithful. We should never allow provocateurs attempting to incite our public through issues that the public is sensitive to and create an environment of strife. Türkiye suffered in the past from such provocations, and we should not allow a repeat of those mistakes. It is our common responsibility to maintain common sense, defend respect for faiths and preserve the public peace in the face of incitement," he said.
